Finding Sara
by fullmoonrisin
Summary: Set during Dead Doll. It's the same basic concept with some added twists. If you want to know more, read it! Sandle
1. Revelations

I do not own CSI and I'm afraid I'm fresh out witty disclaimer ideas. Anyway, CBS, by the slim chance you should read this…don't sue me please! Someone's already doing that. I hope you like this!! FYI: I have changed several details, but some elements from the episode are still intact.

"_I took away the only person she ever loved. Now she's going to do the same to me."_

"WHAT!!" Greg's voice boomed through the layout room, shocking everyone inside even more.

The implications of what Grissom had just said came crashing down on him like a rogue wave capsizing a ship. Only his words had capsized his heart. He let Sara into his apartment, shared his bed with her, now he finds out Grissom is having an affair with the woman he loves!

"GREG!" Grissom's voice yanked him out of his thoughts.

"What Grissom!" He snapped

"If you would pay attention, I would explain to all of you what I was going to before you interrupted." He glared Greg's way.

"Sara and I have never had a romantic relationship…you all just assumed that." He paused, taking in the sheepish looks and gestures from everyone.

"As you all know, Sara was a foster child. When I was 28, I married her foster mother. She was 13 at the time. A year later, we adopted her as our own child. Sara is legally my daughter." Grissom explained as four jaws hit the floor. The shock in the room was intense when they thought Grissom and Sara were a couple, now it was electrifying.

"So, why didn't you know about her father?" Greg asked, now somewhat embarrassed at his outburst.

"She never would tell me." Grissom stated simply turning back to the table, as everyone began to regain composure.

Somewhere in the depths of the dark Nevada desert, a red Mustang lay twisted and mangled on its top. Sara clawed at the dirt frantically with her pinned arm, doing anything to get free.

"Oh great!" She thought, hearing the cry of coyotes, then hearing their padded steps approach the window that her arm was stuck under.

She froze, hoping they would leave if they didn't see movement. Instead, they dug around the window, achieving more progress in a few seconds than she had in hours.

_Thank you, God! _She thought to herself as the coyotes dug nearly enough for her to free her arm…nearly. Some of her forearm remained trapped as the car shifted.

_Could this be any worse? _As soon as she thought it, she felt a drop of liquid hit her hand. That meant it was soon to be pouring.

"Alright, let's go over what we know again-"

"What DO we know, Catherine?" Greg broke down "It's a model of the desert scenery with one freakin cactus and a car stuck in the middle!" Greg began to cry, lifting the car up and tossing it across the layout room haphazardly.

"Greg, Look!"

Out in the desert, the rain was now pouring. It battered the landscape relentlessly as the wind howled and the night creatures sought cover. Underneath a certain red car, a brunette CSI was now fighting to free herself before she drowned while images of her team, mostly Greg and Grissom, flashed through her head. She had to live. For them.


	2. Hope

Still don't own CSI…STOP ASKING!! AHHHH!!! Okay, back to sanity now. I hope you like this so far and I hope you like this new chapter.

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Ch. 2: Closing In

"Greg, look." Catherine spoke, causing the young CSI to look up.

There, under the car was a puddle of water. That meant one thing…rain. As if on cue, it thundered outside. Greg sprinted out of the layout room and into the break room to turn on the tv.

"For anyone working tonight, we have a breaking weather report." A perky blonde weather girl spoke. "All of Clark County and most of the Nevada desert can expect heavy thunderstorms through out the night.

CLICK

Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch…and most likely the rain meant that he couldn't take the helicopter out until morning. He banged his fist on the table in frustration, growing impatient. It was like watching Nick in that box two years earlier…except he knew Nick was alive. Now, the woman he loved was somewhere out in the desert, possibly drowning under a car.

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Sara dove under water, using a rock to try and free her hand. She worked and worked until she could feel her lungs burn with oxygen withdrawal. She surfaced yet again and dove back under, repeating the process. She was a woman on a mission: survival. She had to live so she could hold Greg again. She swore to herself the first chance she got after this she would give him the most emotion-laden kiss she could muster.

Surfacing again, Sara realized that she would have to break her arm to escape. She braced herself for the pain…

SNAP

She emitted a scream as pain coursed through her arm and she laughed and cried when she realized that the water would wash her through the open window. She took her field vest off and left it to float in the water as a way to let her team know that she was still alive. She would bet anything that either Greg or Grissom or both would find the car. She smiled slightly at the thought before she stood.

Again her thoughts drifted to Greg as she pulled the Mustang's mirror off and proceeded to make a splint and bandana out of her blouse. She prayed to any God that was up there that she would survive the desert sun that would come in a few hours.

* * *

"Hey." Nick walked into the layout room with Warrick in tow. "Maybe this'll narrow it down some." He tossed a paper onto the table.

Grissom studied it carefully as Greg looked over his shoulder impatiently. Dawn was breaking and he wanted to find her desperately.

"So, let's lay it out. The car we're looking for is a red mustang; involved in a case that Sara was the lead on. The trace that Hodges found on Natalie is flora commonly found in Red Rock Canyon, and Natalie drove to the west in the surveillance tape." Grissom laid out their evidence much more calmly than he felt.

"That leaves us with Red Rock Canyon and the surrounding areas." Greg anxiously dropped his two cents.

"I can narrow it down further." Brass spoke from the doorway. "Natalie hired a tow truck driver to tow the car out to Ice Box Canyon. That's right outside Red Rock." He said, pointing on the map.

"Well let's go!" Greg barreled out of the layout room and down the hall, on his way to a chopper that Brass had waiting outside.

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Sara wondered aimlessly through Red Rock Canyon, willing herself to keep lifting her feet. She carried rocks in her right hand and put some down every few steps. In the back of her mind she decided that she now hated Hansel & Gretel.

Exhaustion was setting in at an alarming rate and without food or water; Sara wondered how long she could fight dehydration. She looked up at the sun and fought the urge to do the cliché thing and fall to her knees while throwing her hands in the air. Instead, she walked on…determined to live.

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The chopper circled over Ice Box Canyon as the convoy drove the winding road beneath them. He would just die if they found her body in the car. They continued to race through the desert until Greg saw it, the flash of red.

"Wait, circle back around!" He yelled to the pilot over the whirring of propeller blades.

The red Mustang came into full view as the chopper turned around. Inside, Greg felt relief and dread all at the same time.

"That's it! He told the pilot, motioning for him to land. "Grissom! We found the car!" He informed over the CB radio for the team to hear as the chopper landed.

Before the chopper could even land, Greg was on the ground sprinting towards the car with Grissom on his heels.

"SARA!!!" he yelled falling to his knees next to the car.

"SARA!" Grissom called, digging into the sand along with Greg as the rest of the team reached them, also calling her name.

Reaching for sand, Greg instead wound up pulling a CSI vest from the car. His hopes of finding her alive rose as he read her name on the vest. Grissom, however, wore a grim expression.

"You all right, Gil?" Catherine asked, coming to stand next to him. "She's out there in_ this." _Grissom motioned to indicate that he meant the general desert. "My adopted daughter is out there with no food or water in this terrain and this heat." Greg winced. Grissom had just voiced what he'd been too afraid to think about.

"She'll be okay, Gil" Catherine assured him. "She's tough. She's a survivor." She patted Grissom's back and winked at Greg before walking off by herself to have a private breakdown.

_I hope so. _Grissom and Greg both thought, neither knowing what the other was thinking.

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Well that's it for the second chapter. I'm hoping to make the next one the last. Again, I tweaked several details but tried to stay somewhat close to the original story...so yes I am aware that some things are inaccurate. It was intentional.


	3. Knowing

Once again, I own nothing. So please put down the phone and leave your lawyer alone. He has enough money. Hopefully, this is the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it so far.

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Ch. 3: Knowing

Somewhere in Red Rock Canyon, Sara continued to struggle to continue walking. She looked at the sun. It was noon; she was beginning to think that she might die out here…whether she wanted to or not.

She was extremely dehydrated, very hungry, and beginning to grow delirious with heat exhaustion and fatigue.

"Just keep walking", she told herself. Doing anything to keep her mind from slipping as she placed a stack of rocks down.

She quietly noticed that she was approaching Turtlehead Peak as she continued to trudge on, tripping over her feet at the top of a sand dune and sliding down like a rag doll.

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_Where could she be!_

Greg was quickly losing his wits, yet he still remained optimistic that she was alive. It had been three hours since the car was found and Grissom had ordered the team to fan out and scour the Red Rock and Ice Box Canyons. The noontime heat was now beating down on the desert and they all knew that time was quickly becoming a huge factor.

He knew as long as she'd been exposed to the harsh elements that she had to be in a state of delirium and dehydration. She was also nearing heat stroke. He let a single tear slip from his eye as he scanned the desert floor below.

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Catherine walked slowly through the desert, examining every part of the landscape as she looked for any sign of Sara. There were cacti, brush, and the…stack of rocks? _Definitely left by a human. _Catherine bent to take a closer look and then noticed that there was another stack a few feet away.

"Hey, Gil. Check this out." She called over her shoulder

"This is better than footprints." She said once he'd gotten the chance to take it all in.

"Oh, yeah."

"Looks like they're headed toward Vegas." She noted while Grissom picked up his CB.

"Nick, Greg. Narrow you're search radius to areas in and around Red Rock that are closest Vegas, we think she was trying to walk back.

"That rules out Ice Box." Nick affirmed.

"Well, Red Rock is too big for her to walk out of it in a few hours, so that leaves Eastern Red Rock. She could also be in Turtlehead Peak. The terrain in that section of Red Rock isn't as harsh." Greg reasoned "If she knew what she was in for she'd want to make it as easy as possible." He added.

"Right. Sofia and I will check." Nick agreed, as hope of finding Sara rose within everyone again.

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Sara laughed softly to herself in delirium as she struggled to lift her feet.

"Come on. Keep walking Sara. Stay awake." She told herself as she fell to her knees for the umpteenth time that day and fought to stand back up.

"Don't sleep. Don't sleep." She said, still on the ground and fighting to get up.

Getting back on her feet, she tried a different tactic.

"Three times four is…three times four is twelve." She mumbled, giggling a little bit.

"Four times four is…I-I don't know. What is it? Oh! Four times four is sixteen."

This went on for several minutes before she finally stopped by a bush and her legs gave way underneath her again.

"Don't sleep. Don't sleep. Don't…" She mumbled, passing out finally underneath a mesquite tree with the car's mirror in her hand, reflecting the sun.

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Nick and Sophia were now cruising a road near Turtlehead Peak while Nick searched for Sara and Sophia drove. Greg had ordered the pilot of the chopper to fly over Sara's trail and, the trail had ended eventually. So, finding nothing, Greg was now flying above Sophia. The rest of the convoy wasn't too far behind them.

As he searched, a bright flash of light suddenly blinded Greg. He looked in that direction to see a mesquite tree…with an arm sticking out from under it.

"Nick, I see her!" He yelled over CB, turning to the pilot. "Land this thing!" He only hoped that they weren't too late.

Again his feet hit the ground before the chopper even touched down. He was in a dead sprint with Nick and Sophia behind him. "SARA!!" He called to her, kneeling at her head. Nick caught up and poured his water over her, as did Sophia.

"I can't get a pulse." Greg cried, fearing that she wouldn't make it. His guts twisting inside when he didn't feel a pulse under his fingertips.

Grissom, Warrick and Catherine all got to her just before the medEvac landed.

"We need room." They said urgently, ushering everyone out of the way. Greg and Grissom refused and settled for staying near her head. Grissom placed the oxygen mask on her face as Greg held the IV bag and stroked her dirty, matted hair with his free hand.

"Move over! We're going!" Grissom ordered once Sara was loaded onto the chopper. Greg and Grissom both stepped on, staying out of the way as they continued to work.

"Where are you taking her!?"

"Desert Palm!" One medic answered Catherine before closing the door.

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Seconds later, Grissom and Greg sat on either side of Sara. They each held her hand, careful not to hurt her injured arm.

Sara's eyes fluttered open and her blurred vision cleared to reveal the letters: GRISSOM. She looked over and made out SANDERS on the vest of the man to her right. She made it. She was safe. She smiled widely at her father and the love of her life as they both beamed at her in relief and happiness at her safety. She slipped into unconsciousness again as Greg kissed her hand and fixed her hair while Grissom carefully squeezed her left hand.

The two men looked at each other…this time knowing exactly what the other was thinking: Catherine was right.

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It's a little short but I like this chapter. I hope you do too. This may or may not be the last chapter. Let me know what YOU think I should do.


	4. Hanging On

I think we all know that nobody on owns CSI. With that said, I'd like to thank anyone that's read this story and especially the one person that's reviewed it along with anyone else that may have reviewed by the time I post this chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter; I have enjoyed writing the story.

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Chapter 4: Hanging On

Greg paced the waiting room floor anxiously, only briefly pausing to look at Grissom. He was taking in the situation calmly, yet his face betrayed the same worry and anxiety that Greg was showing with his relentless pacing.

Sara had been rushed to Desert Palms via MedEvac two hours ago. He and Grissom had been forced to wait in the emergency waiting room along with the rest of the team. Greg wasn't sure what was going on, but his minor in Anatomy & Physiology gave him enough knowledge to know that it doesn't take two hours to treat a fractured arm, heat exhaustion, and dehydration before allowing a patient visitors. He also knew that with severe dehydration came the chance of cardiac arrest. Something was terribly wrong.

"Greg, man. Could you chill out? I'm sure Sara will be fine." Nick spoke, quickly regretting it as the younger CSI turned on his heels and glared at the Texan.

"Chill out? Chill out?! That's easy for you to say Nick. YOU haven't shared your bed with Sara for the past two years!" He raised his voice at Nick, unleashing his overflowing emotions from the past twenty-four hours.

"Greg…"Catherine tried to cut in, but was interrupted as Greg spoke again. "I LOVE her Nick and I almost lost her before I got a chance to propose." He spoke in a harsh, yet soft tone as he brandished the wedding ring from his pocket. "I still could lose her. Cardiac arrest is a possibility and they've been taking too long for my liking." He said, letting tears come to his eyes as he finally sat next to Nick and put his head in his hands.

Across the room, Grissom just took it all in. He was happy that his little Sara had finally found someone to make her happy who cared for her like Greg had just shown he did. Yet…he too was aware that it had been too long as the twinge of worry rose within his gut again.

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Minutes later, Greg felt Nick prod him in the ribs. He glared at Nick sleepily. "Doctor's here." Was all Nick offered. In an instant, Greg was wide-awake as the team looked expectantly at the doctor.

"I'm Dr. Ackerman. I'm assuming you're all wondering what took so long so I'll get right to it." The doctor spoke, once he was sure that everyone was listening.

"As you may or may not be aware, cases of severe or prolonged dehydration may cause cardiac arrest as well as a few more minor complications." He looked around as the team nodded, Greg somewhat more eagerly than everyone else.

"Miss Sidle is indeed severely dehydrated. We lost her twice in Trauma due to cardiac arrest. I am almost certain, however, that it won't happen again. She is stabilized and she's on an IV drip." The doctor explained, causing instant panic and relief.

"So, when can we see her?" Catherine asked

"Only her listed next of kin may see her while she's in the emergency room. I'm sorry, its hospital policy." The doctor looked at Catherine looking somewhat sheepish.

"So, who is her next of kin?" Warrick asked, half expecting an answer from Grissom.

"I am." Greg and Grissom simultaneously answered, making everyone else grin.

"Who is Greg Sanders?" The doctor asked, and seeing Greg nod he spoke again.

"May I speak with you privately, Mr. Sanders?"

"Anything you have to say to me you can say out here." Greg said firmly, confused as to what the doctor had to say.

"Well, Miss Sidle is pregnant and she has named you as the father. One of the reasons we took so long was because we were also trying to save the baby." Dr. Ackerman explained, ignoring the shocked looks of Greg's colleagues.

"And did you?" Greg asked

"Yes, but I'd like you to be prepared. The baby may not survive the night." He stated bluntly, watching Greg's mouth fall open.

"Can I see Sara?"

"Yes, in fact she wanted to see you first."

With that the doctor gave him the room number and he walked back to Sara's room, mentally preparing himself so he wouldn't cry in front of her.

"Hey, gimpy!" Greg greeted, earning a glare from Sara that lost all effect the minute her face lit up from seeing him.

"Shut up, Greg." She chuckled as he lifted her non-injured arm and kissed her hand.

"Now, that's not the kind of thing you say to the man you love, Sara Marie." He grinned with his famous smile, now holding her hand. He wanted to put off having to talk about her pregnancy. Sara saw the conflicted emotions in his eyes.

"It is if he makes fun of your broken arm. What's wrong, Greg?" She brought a hand to his cheek to trace the five 0' clock shadow that had grown there. She had to admit, he looked as much like hell as she did.

He stiffened, wondering if it was really a good thing to talk about a possible miscarriage with her in her current state.

"The doctor told me that you're pregnant." Greg said grimly.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Gee, Greg you don't seem too happy about it." She teased.

He saw through it. He knew she wasn't just teasing. She was trying to hide her real feelings. He could tell that the doctor had told her the same thing though.

"Oh, I'm happy about a lot of things." He started "I'm happy you lived, I'm happy you're mine…and I'm happy you're pregnant with my child." He smiled at her, kissing her briefly.

"However, I'm not happy that you were kidnapped. I'm not happy that you're in pain, and I'm not happy that our unborn child might die." He said, standing up and turning his back on her so she wouldn't see him cry. He failed miserably, breaking down at the foot of her bed.

"Shh…Greg, it's okay honey." Sara whispered to him in a soothing voice

"No it's not! I could've kept her from taking you if I had just stuck it out and gone with you to the Veggie Café one freakin' time! I wasn't even on a case, I had no excuse not to go with you." He wailed, now clutching the blankets around her legs.

"It's not your fault. Natalie would've found a way to kidnap me one way or another. You can't be with me every second of everyday to stop something like that from happening." Sara tried to soothe Greg, tears now spilling from her eyes.

"I can sure try!" He grinned through his tears. "I thought you were going to die, you have no idea how terrified I was." He sniffed, looking her dead in the face.

"Greg, I thought you were gonna die when you got beat up. So I think I do know." Sara smiled wryly, despite the seriousness of the conversation.

"Do you remember what you said kept you hanging on that night, Greg?"

"It was you, Babe." Greg answered

"Well, I thought I was gonna die last night and today and every time I felt like quitting I thought of you. You kept me hanging on, Greg." Sara smiled at him, ruffling his hair affectionately. The moment was ruined when Grissom knocked on the door.

"How are you feeling?" He smiled at her

"I'm stuck in bed and I can't work. I feel useless." Sara complained, but still smiled.

"You did good today, sweetie. I don't think we would've found you without the trail you left us." Grissom spoke proudly.

"I don't even wanna think about that." Greg and Sara both answered him

Grissom smiled "Is there anything I can get you, Sar?"

She shook her head. "No, any fluids or nourishment are going to be via an IV and vitamins for the next few days." She sighed, not liking the fact that she couldn't eat or drink.

"Besides. I got everything I need right here." She gave Greg her full gap-toothed smile.

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Well, that's it for chapter 4. I'm not sure where this is going to end now so I'm just writing until I get to an ending I'm satisfied with. Although this chapter would be a good ending place if I chose to end it here. Anyway, please Read and Review!! It is appreciated!


	5. New Miniature

If I owned CSI, I wouldn't have to write fan fiction. Anyway, enjoy the read and thank you to those of you who have read and especially reviewed.

Ch. 5: New Miniature

Several days later, Sara was released from the hospital but was still on a leave of absence due to her broken arm. Furthermore, the baby had indeed survived and both Grissom and Greg agreed that it was too risky for her to work much while the baby still recovered. Hence, Sara now sat in the living room of their apartment as Greg prepared to leave for his shift.

"I'll call and check on you later…make sure you haven't died of boredom without me." Greg grinned wryly as he bent to place a short kiss to Sara's lips.

"Please do. I don't feel like dying anytime soon." She said jokingly, yet in the back of her mind meant it seriously as she looked at her broken arm.

"I will." Greg said happily, missing the underlying edge in her joking tone as he blew her another kiss from the door before leaving.

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Greg sauntered into the break room, suavely setting his fedora on the table as he waited for assignments along with everyone else. He took a moment to look around, taking in everyone's antics.

Nick and Warrick were playing their usual game of Madden and bickering every so often as they passed bills between each other. Catherine sat with her feet propped on the table while reading a fashion magazine. She looked up and quietly snickered at Nick and Warrick on occasion.

Greg himself sat listening to his iPod as he normally could be found doing. He looked over to the bare spot next to him that Sara normally occupied and frowned as the first chords of their song spilled out of his ear buds and into his head. This did not go unnoticed by Catherine.

"You missin' her already, Greggo?" She smiled knowingly at him, speaking loud enough for him to hear.

"A little more every second." He smiled sadly.

Grissom walked in shortly after his reply. He was carrying a large folder and he looked like he'd just seen a ghost.

"Griss, what's up?" Greg asked as Nick nodded "Yeah man, are you alright?"

"Natalie Davis escaped half an hour ago." He rubbed his temples "Brass has all of his men out there looking for her but there's no sign of her. Anyway, we've been instructed by the sheriff to continue business as usual so here are your assignments." Grissom said, opening his folder, not even bothering to let anyone recover.

"Wait a minute, Grissom! Does Sara know?!" Greg sputtered, horrified at the possibility of a repeat.

"Yes she knows. I called her five minutes ago when I found out. I told her to lock all the doors and windows." He said calmly, handing him his assignment slip: A B&E at a cabin near Red Rock.

He sighed and headed for the door, calling Sara when he got to the Denali.

"Hello?" He heard Sara's tired voice on the other end

"Hey Babe." He greeted "I'm just checking on you. Grissom told us about Natalie." He heard her heave a frustrated sigh on the other end.

"God, why couldn't it just be over when I was airlifted out of that desert, Greg?" from her voice he could tell she was shaken and scared of anything else Natalie might have in store for her. He couldn't blame her he was too.

"It's okay, Sar. Brass has all his guys out looking for her." He said, trying to calm her. He added: "Even if I have to find that psycho myself and drag her into the station, she WILL NOT hurt you again." Greg promised Sara, his voice laced with vehemence.

He smiled when he heard her laugh a little bit. "Well, I have a B & E to get to and we both know I don't drive well while using a cell phone so I guess I'll let you go."

"Aww." Sara protested, Greg could tell that she was pouting without even seeing her.

"I love you, Sara."

"I love you too, Greg. Good luck." He clicked his cell phone off after hearing her hang up and within minutes he was on his way to the crime scene.

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Somewhere outside of Tropicana Condominiums & Apartments, a hunched figure carried a familiar white box. To any onlookers who happened to see her, she appeared to be a normal bum. Not even the box was strange. After all, in Vegas, people were known to do far stranger and look far crazier. However, any member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department would say of this "bum" that she didn't just look crazy…she WAS crazy.

The girl stopped and counted a few doors before continuing her trek up the stairs and to the third to from the corner. She sat the box down and stood for a moment, cocking her head at the mailbox labeled: Sanders before stalking off seemingly satisfied.

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At the crime scene, Greg stepped out of then Denali…and immediately noticed two things missing. One: a detective, and two: Crime scene tape. He entered the door of the cabin to find a bloody mess; the detective was sprawled on the floor dead.

"What the hell?" He breathed, taking his phone out.

Hearing the door shut behind him, Greg turned and was immediately immobilized by the tazer that Natalie held in her hand. Natalie dragged Greg out to the detective's car. With a great deal of effort, she managed to tie him up and throw him in the trunk as he clung to a thread of consciousness…unable to stop her.

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Back at the lab, Grissom had no case to work on and he found himself examining all the evidence from the miniature killings. From Izzy Delancy to Sara Sidle…Grissom looked at every last piece of evidence, trying to get into Natalie's depraved mind. He hoped that maybe if he could learn to think like her, then maybe he could guess where she might be.

"Hey, Grissom." Brass knocked on Grissom's doorframe

"There's something in Natalie's cell you might wanna see." He said, gesturing to the miniatures placed in the room.

"What? Another miniature?" Grissom asked incredulously.

"That's what the officer told me." Brass said grimly.

Grissom stepped into the cell gingerly, almost cautiously, once he and Brass reached the cellblock.

"Its under that tile there." An officer spoke timidly, pointing to a tile that looked out of place.

"Thank you." Grissom replied calmly as he pulled the tile up with caution. He surveyed the miniature, noting that it was a desert landscape like Sara's had been. But, where's the victim? Grissom noticed a small pipe protruding from the ground of the miniature. He dug in the dirt around the pipe and a mini Greg Sanders came into view…encased in a glass coffin with the pipe connecting it to the surface.

Grissom's eyes widened and he stood up hurriedly. He shoved the miniature into Brass' hands. "Layout room. Now." He brushed past Brass on his way down the hallway.

"Whoa, Gil. Where's the fire?" Catherine asked him, following him to the layout room as he motioned to Nick and Warrick along the way.

She turned and got a sick feeling of déjà vu when she saw Brass holding an all too familiar white box.

"That's not what I think it is. Is it Brass?" Nick asked as he and Warrick joined them.

"Yes it is." He sighed.

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The chirping of a cell phone pulled Sara from the restful sleep she was having. She grumbled drowsily as she picked it up and flipped open.

"Hey, Greg." She smiled, but was met with Nick's voice instead.

"Sara, Greg's been kidnapped. Natalie left another miniature and Greg never came back from his crime scene. We tried calling him but he's not answering." The Texan's normally mellow voice sounded tense and strained in her ear as she froze at the news.

"I'm coming in." was all Sara said before hanging up and heading for the door.

When she opened the door she nearly tripped on a white box and her insides churned. She knew what it was. She stooped over and removed the lid. The landscape looked a lot like the area she'd been left in. _Where's Greg?_ She thought, and then she saw the pipe. _Oh no! _She didn't even bother to dig. She knew what she would find and she wasn't ready to see it yet.

She bit back her tears and took the miniature to her car so she could get it to the crime lab.

While driving, her only thought was: Why? Why Greg? She didn't understand how kidnapping Greg helped Natalie get revenge against Grissom. Then it hit her:

"_Natalie!" Sara screamed as the car was lowered onto her arm. "Natalie!" She yelled again, more desperate this time, only to have Natalie turn and start walking away._

"_Greg…" She began to sob as she pulled at her captive arm. "GREG!!" She sobbed as she watched Natalie reach her car and drive away._

Of course! It made perfect sense. How could Natalie have spied on her for so long and not noticed the relationship between her and Greg. It wasn't like they hid it at all.

She shook her head. She only hoped that Greg was as determined as she had been.

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Well, that's chapter 5. I hope you like it. Please R & R!!


	6. Sawdust

I don't own CSI yet. I do, however, own Season 1 on DVD as well as the 3 Dimensions of Murder Playstation game. Any who, thanks for the reviews and I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter!!

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Chapter 6: Sawdust

"Something's off about this one." Catherine shook her head as she examined the two like miniatures.

"You mean besides the fact that my best friend, boyfriend, and the father of my unborn child is BURIED alive?" Sara struggled to contain her emotions as she studied the other miniatures…cringing as she went over the Sidle miniature.

"Yes actually, take a look and tell me what's different." Catherine instructed, disregarding her minor outburst. The older woman understood Sara's feelings; she was worried about Greg too. She had been worried about Sara, but she wasn't going to address that worry. It would only hurt Sara's mental state as well as the investigation.

"There's no picture!" Sara observed after moments of scanning the miniature. "What does that mean, Cath?" Sara asked

"It could mean anything." Grissom answered from the doorway. "Most likely it means that she was rushed. Her other miniatures took weeks, whereas she only had a few hours at the most to complete the one she left you." He explained

"And she didn't have time to work on this one for hours on end in the cell block." Catherine added.

"The scenery is basically the same, but some of the minor details are different. Even in the other miniatures she got the minor details down to a tee." Sara noted, comparing the two miniatures.

"Sara, can I talk to you for a sec?" Grissom asked

Sara nodded and followed him outside.

"Sara, I don't want you working this case." Grissom started but was cut off

"Save it. I need rest. I have a broken arm. I'm pregnant. I know, Grissom." She spoke softly yet harshly, fighting to keep her unshed tears back.

"You're also much closer to Greg than anyone else in here. The details of the case will get to you and you'll be too much of a wreck to help." Grissom argued

"You couldn't keep me from working it even if Ecklie suspended me." Sara said with a tone of finality.

"Well, in that case, you can come with me to go interrogate Natalie…again. Brass picked her up." Grissom said, admitting defeat. He shook his head. Sara always had been stubborn. Once she made her mind up about something there never had been any changing it. Only Greg had that incredible ability.

----------------------

Greg groaned hoarsely as his blurred vision started to clear. He blinked a few times and looked around. There was a single light coming from a tube in front of his face. Then he remembered…Natalie.

He panicked, kicking and screaming at the walls surrounding him. He knew he was lying six feet under…just like Nick had. The difference? He had an air supply that wouldn't run out. Then he saw the light go dark momentarily as the hole was obscured by something. He could just make out a rope of some sort moving toward him before the hole was partially opened again and light came back in.

He saw scales when the light came across one side of the "rope". _Oh shit! SNAKE!!_ He freaked inwardly, watching the snake continue to slither down the hole. He had a deep-rooted phobia of snakes and now he was going to be trapped with one…worse, a venomous one. Greg knew that the only snakes in the Nevada desert were rattlesnakes.

It took every ounce of self-restraint he had to keep himself from freaking out as the rattler dropped on his face and slithered down his body before coiling in one of the corners. He knew he would be bitten if he did.

-------------------------

"I'm telling you, she's not gonna answer. She's catatonic." Brass said to a very frustrated Grissom and Sara. He tried not to cower under the glare he was receiving from one very pissed off Sara Sidle.

"That's what you said before she got up and walked out of here to kidnap Greg." Sara growled, hardening her glare.

"Alright, she's already in the interrogation room if I can't talk you out of it." Brass sighed as he walked away.

"Hey Natalie, its been a few days." Sara smirked outwardly, but cringed on the inside as she remembered her ordeal only a week ago.

In response, Natalie merely cocked her head to one side and then the other.

"Natalie, I know you took Greg Sanders. Where is he?" She asked calmly while Grissom just stood back.

"I've got a pain in my sawdust. I'm just as sick as can be." Natalie muttered incoherently as she stared at Sara with the same crazy look she'd stared with a week before.

Sara looked away and shook her head rapidly, trying to clear the image from her mind.

"Hey guys," Warrick spoke as he walked in. "we found something in the miniature that you should see."

Warrick cringed as he briefly made eye contact with Natalie on his way out.

------------------------

Ever so slowly, Greg reached into his jeans pocket for his iPod. He figured he might as well listen to some music if he was going to be stuck in a box with a snake.

As he reached, the snake rattled violently. _Scratch that idea._ He VERY slowly moved his hand back to its original position and the snake calmed down.

_Oh well. I guess I'll have to learn how to lay still and not move. _He thought, unaware that he was laying on a bigger problem.

-------------------

"What do you have Catherine?" Grissom asked as he walked through the layout room threshold with Sara in tow.

"Look at this." Catherine said, handing Grissom the coffin with a motorized Greg still kicking inside of it.

"There's a square missing out of the back." Grissom noticed as he quirked a brow.

"Right." Nick said. "Now, do you remember that case several years ago where the girl got buried near the goldmines?" Nick asked, speaking to everyone. Everyone nodded and he continued. "Same principle as Grissom's story about how he knew about the cyanide. Only this time, it's Sulfer." Nick paused pointing at one of the miniatures.

"I have an uncle in Texas who used to own a Sulfer plant. He told me that red dirt, like the dirt and sand around Red Rock, is caused by lots of Sulfer in the dirt. It's also capable of leeching into the system through the skin like cyanide does. My uncle's workers never handle anything without gloves and masks." He explained

"She doesn't want him to suffocate, she wants the Sulfer to poison him." Grissom realized as they heard the slamming of a door and noticed that Sara was gone.

-----------------------

Sara stormed into the cellblock and came to a stop in front of Natalie Davis' cell. The psychopath merely stared as if she could see the wall through Sara. Sara ignored the sick feeling she got from being in Natalie's presence and stared her down.

"Where the HELL is he!" Sara yelled, ignoring the cheers from other inmates.

"Something is wrong with my little inside. Don't let me faint. Get me a fan. Someone else go to the medicine man." Natalie mumbled a different verse of the same twisted song.

Sara had enough. "STOP toying with me! WHERE IS HE, NATALIE!?" She screamed angrily, grabbing the bars of the cell before Grissom pried her away.

----------

"Damn it, Grissom! Why didn't you let me talk to her?" Sara spoke angrily.

"Would it have done any good? She won't give you a straight answer, Sara." He told her bluntly

"And, you left before I could finish." Nick smiled as they entered the layout room again.

"Plants don't grow when there are high levels of Sulfer in the soil. There is only a small area of Red Rock that has this exact landscape…sans plants, and a high amount of Sulfer. The plants in this miniature wouldn't grow in Red Rock anyway so I think its safe to say they're irrelevant. So we've narrowed the area down to about twenty square miles." Nick elucidated

"It's not too far from where we found the car." Catherine stated.

"Great, let's go!" Sara spoke eagerly, nearly flying out the door in a manner much like Greg had the week prior.

* * *

Well that's chapter six. I hope ya'll like it as much as I liked writing it. Please R & R!!


	7. You've Got A Little Life Left In You Yet

Do you want to know a secret? CSI………is not mine!!! Anyway, enjoy this chapter guys!

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Chapter 7: You've Got A Little Life In You Yet

"So why are we taking all of the department choppers again?" Brass asked loudly as he stepped into one of the said choppers alongside Grissom and Catherine.

"Because it takes half an hour to drive to Red Rock and only five minutes to fly there. We need every second we can get this time." Grissom explained shortly as he put his radio on over his ears.

"I see, well, the sheriff's ordered a convoy to Red Rock anyway."

"Well, I guess we'll have a ride back then because we only have the choppers for the trip to the desert." Catherine chimed in with her two cents.

"Let's take her up, Doyle!" Sara called to the pilot of her chopper as the five choppers took off taking the CSI team, Brass, and several of his detectives out to the desert.

-------------------------------

Greg shook nervously in his box. In the time that he'd been underground, THREE rattlesnakes had slithered down the hole and into the box with him. They were all very aggressive. Not towards him…yet, but they slithered and hissed and rattled at each other violently as he was forced to lie there and bear it. He couldn't even scream for fear that they would assault him.

"Please hurry, Sara." He whispered softly.

He noticed that his muscles were beginning to grow heavy and he was starting to have trouble keeping his eyes open. Then he remembered something he learned his first year in Vegas: red dirt contains Sulfur. He realized as he shifted very slowly that his back had been exposed to the dirt all this time. Greg knew that Sulfer is a poisonous chemical and he knew that it soaks into any porous surface…including skin.

_Not good. I'm gonna die here. NO! I can't die here…screw Sulfur poisoning! _

Greg began to beat furiously on the Plexiglas coffin, not caring about the snakes. All three of them struck and he winced as one hit its mark but continued to pound the glass as he stomped them all to death. He continued like this until he couldn't fight the blackness of sleep anymore. He passed out as unconsciousness overtook him.

-------------------------

Sara dropped to her knees in frustration and exhaustion…much like she had the week before. She let a few tears fall from her eyes as she willed herself to stand up and keep up hope.

"Where could he be Warrick?" She sighed, on the edge of a breakdown.

"According to Nick, anywhere within twenty square miles." He answered, "Don't worry. We'll find him and he's a survivor just like you are." Warrick added, seeing Sara's anxious expression.

"What if we're too late? What if he's dead?" Sara worried out loud, beginning to grow frantic again.

"Greg? Nah, the kid has too much life in him. If he dies young it'll be because the chute didn't open." Warrick smiled reassuringly, pulling Sara into a hug.

She smiled back and wiped away the tears that had ran down her face, silently thanking him as she turned to continue searching.

She was so absorbed in her search that she tripped right over the pipe and struggled to catch herself before she fell. She carefully examined the pipe then took out a blown up image of the miniature and compared it to the terrain of the desert. It was the same.

"Warrick! I found it! I found the pipe!" She called to him, causing him to run over and look for himself. He did the same thing she had just done and a huge smile crept over his features as he punched the air and shouted in triumph.

"We found the pipe!" Warrick said over his CB, still smiling as he got down on his knees and began to dig with his bare hands, with Sara at his side doing the same with her good hand.

------------------------------------

A few minutes later, they were still digging as the rest of the CSI team plus Brass and his men ran up to help.

They dug faster and more urgently as the coffin began to come into view. Greg's face followed. Each member of the team swallowed a lump in their throats as they noticed he was unconscious.

"Oh my God." Sara spoke once the entire coffin was uncovered. Greg lay there, unmoving, with three snakes in the coffin with him and at least one bite.

It was a mortifying sight, not just because of what they were seeing, but because each of them knew what he had to have gone through in the last few hours: suffering from claustrophobia, sulfur poisoning, AND sharing his limited space with three deadly reptiles.

Sara dropped to her knees at the corner of the coffin and began pulling at the corners, hoping he was still alive.

"There's no lid!!" She said, astonished.

"What!?" Nick exclaimed taking a closer look.

Grissom stood thinking for a few moments before speaking. "Jim, bring some ropes over here. We're going to pull the coffin out of the hole."

With ropes attached to the top two corners of the coffin, the team hoisted it up and out of the hole. Sara smiled and did a little mental happy dance when Greg gave a small moan.

"Turn the coffin over on its front. I want to see something." Grissom said

Nick and Warrick did as he told them and sure enough, Grissom's hunch was correct. The hole in the back was big enough for Greg to fit through.

Nick grabbed the young CSI around the shoulders and pulled him through the hole, dragging him onto the ground where Sara quickly picked him up.

"Greg. Greg! Please wake up!" She pleaded with him when she noticed that he'd stopped breathing. For a moment she considered sucking his bite but realized it had been too long since he was bitten for it to make a difference. She laid him on the ground and breathed into his mouth. When she tried to start compressions, she realized she couldn't do it with just one good arm, yet she was unwilling to let go of him.

"Let me take it from here." A medic told her, gently moving her aside. She hadn't even noticed the MedEvac land. She sat there as he worked, holding Greg's hand.

Seconds later he was loaded on a stretcher as the medics took him to the chopper.

"I'm going." She said to the same medic that had worked on her.

"Alright." He smiled, remembering Greg's insistence to go with Sara.

"Desert Palms?" Catherine yelled over the noise of the chopper.

"Yes!" The medic yelled

-------------------------

En route to the hospital, Greg opened his eyes to see a vest with the name: SIDLE stitched onto it. He looked up and his eyes met the deep chocolate eyes of his Sara. Both of them had a very strong sense of déjà vu…only he was the one on the stretcher and she was riding with him to the hospital.

"Wasn't I bitten?" He asked

"Yes, it's been treated. The chopper carries antivenin." Sara spoke to him gently, her voice laced with concern and love for him.

"You're being taken to Desert Palms as a precaution for the Sulfur poisoning." She smiled, happy that he was talking back and not dead.

"I guess now you REALLY know how I felt last week, huh?" He smiled and Sara smacked him gently before stroking his face.

"Yes, and I NEVER want to feel it again. I love you." She said, kissing Greg softly on the lips.

"I love you too. Will you marry me, Sara?" He asked, pulling a box out of his pocket and opening it to reveal his grandmother's ring.

Sara's jaw dropped in shock at the ring…and the fact that he actually had the ring on him.

"Do you always carry that with you, Greg?" She asked, her mouth still hanging open.

"Every day for the past three months. I was waiting for the day when I would get up the courage to ask you." Greg smiled "Now answer my question."

"Yes." She said leaning down to kiss him again as the chopper approached Desert Palms.

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Well there you go. It's a shorter chapter but oh well. I hope you liked it. Please R & R!!


	8. Nine Months Later

CSI is not mine. I am merely the puppet master taking control of the characters' strings. Enjoy the read guys!!

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Chapter 8: Nine Months Later

Greg Sanders flew down the halls of Desert Palms hospital as fast as his burning legs would carry him. He passed several onlookers, many of who gave knowing nods and smiles. Greg Sanders had the look of a soon to be father and his heart and soul absolutely swelled with unadulterated delight at the new life that he had helped to create with the woman who would always be the love of his life.

He screeched to a halt outside a pair of doors and wondered if it was the right room for a moment. The thought was cut short as a loud shrill of pain pierced his ears through the doors. _Yep, this is definitely it._ He sighed, walking back into the delivery room.

"Greg Hojem Sanders, where the HELL have you been!!" Sara glared sharply at him as she clutched the bed sheets and continued to breathe heavily before another contraction overtook her and made her feel as if she was going to be split in half.

"I was in Summerlin on a case. I didn't even know you were in labor until Judy bothered to tell me when I came in with evidence." He spoke feebly, with fear dripping from every tone of his soft voice as he took Sara's hand in his.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ahaha AHH! My hand!" Greg winced as Sara's grip became like the vice-like grip of a snapping turtle's jaw when the contraction deepened.

"Oh, SHUT UP GREG!" She yelled, obviously in an intense amount of pain. "Your hand has NOTHING on my vagina…AHHH!" The contraction passed only to be followed immediately by another one.

"Okay…okay…okay. I'm sorry!" Greg writhed in pain at Sara's grip on his hand. The doctor, who had been silent under the sheet up to this point popped up and spoke.

"One more should do it, Miss Sidle."

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME….AHHHOWWW!!!" Greg's heart wrenched at the last scream. He hated to see her in pain more than anything…especially when he was the cause of it. He just concentrated on the fact that it would be rewarding in the end.

"It's okay Sara. You can do it. Just one more and we'll have a baby girl." Greg cooed in Sara's ear…seemingly relaxing her a bit.

"Now!" The doctor ordered

A few more cries, screams, and tears later and the couple heard the sweet sound that they'd waited nine months to hear.

"Wow…" Greg breathed as a nurse laid the squirming baby in Sara's waiting arms. "I can't believe we made her. She's perfect." He murmured as tears threatened to spill from the corners of his eyes.

"Yeah. She's beautiful." Sara beamed as she rocked her daughter gently.

"Just like you, babe." Greg smiled blissfully as he took the scene in and watched Sara getting accustomed to her new role.

"Can I get a name?" a nurse asked as she came up with a pen and the birth certificate.

Greg looked at Sara expectantly, wondering what name she would choose. They had agreed that Sara would choose the first name and Greg would pick the middle name.

"Hope." Greg and Sara smiled at the symbolism of the name before Greg spoke. "Styrke." This earned odd looks from the nurse and Sara. "S-T-Y-R-K-E." Greg spelled it out for the nurse. "And the last name is Sanders." He smiled.

"Styrke?" Sara smiled, amusement dancing across her features.

"It's Norwegian for strength. Everybody in my mom's side of the family has a Norwegian name somewhere in their name so I thought she might as well have one too." He grinned impishly at her.

"And now the hard part…planning our wedding." Greg smiled

"Excuse me! I could plain ten weddings after what I just went through!" Sara gawked incredulously at Greg's teasing comment.

"Are you saying you want to have ten weddings in a row?" He quirked a brow

"No. One will suffice, thank you." She ruffled his hair a bit before pulling him to her by the collar and kissing him.

When she pulled away, Greg still had a dreamy look in his eyes and a goofy grin on his face.

"What are you thinking?" Sara asked with a curious expression on her face.

"I'm just thinking that I finally have a family…with my dream girl that I used to think I'd never have a chance with." He grinned at her.

She chuckled softly. "Go tell the team. I'm sure they're here. You know the room number.

He nodded, placing a kiss on the baby's head and Sara's lips before leaving.

----------------------------

Sara was right; everybody was sitting in the waiting area when Greg walked out. Even Brass and Sofia were there. He smiled as they all stood up to greet him and congratulate him.

"Congrats man!" Nick said, patting him on the back with a heavy Texan hand. Okay, well, it wasn't so much patting as it was beating the crap out of Greg.

"I think you've 'congratulated' him enough Nicky." Catherine said, rescuing Greg from his beating. "So, what's her name?"

"Hope Styrke Sanders." Greg answered, puffing out his chest as a visual of the pride that he felt inside.

"Styrke?" The group collectively asked, save Grissom, who answered for Greg.

"It's Norwegian. It means Strength. Am I right Greg?" He asked, looking to the youngest CSI, who nodded.

"So where is Hope?" Catherine asked

"Yeah, I wanna see my goddaughter!" Nick added excitedly, clapping Greg on the back AGAIN.

"She's in the room with Sara, follow me." Greg happily led the excited group down through the corridors and to room number 432.

"One hundred bucks she looks like Sara." Warrick whispered, leaning over to Nick's ear.

"Nah, man. I bet you a C-note she looks like Greggo." Nick shook Warrick's hand to seal their bet as Greg smiled, already knowing whom the winner would be.

"Oh, she's precious!" Catherine all but squealed as they entered the room.

Sara glared irritably, "And she's sleeping." She hissed quietly.

"Oh, sorry."

"Nick, I believe you owe me two hundred." Warrick's green eyes sparkled with mirth as he placed is palm up expectantly…waiting for Nick to drop the money in his hand.

"They bet on who the baby would look like." Catherine stated, looking at Sara with a pleading look. "Can I hold her?"

Sara smiled tiredly as she handed baby Hope over to the older mother and watched how she interacted with the now-awake baby.

"Hello. Oh you're so cute. Yes you are." Catherine made goo goo eyes at the little baby and laid her finger in the baby's palm for her to grasp. She walked over to Grissom and spoke:

"You wanna go to your Grandpa, huh?" Sara's eyes grew wide as Grissom took the baby.

"How long have they known, Griss?" She asked in surprise

"I let it slip the night you were abducted. I was thinking out loud." Grissom stated simply, turning his attention back to little Hope.

"I still can't picture you calling Grissom 'dad'." Nick said, "Why didn't ya'll tell anyone?"

"Well first of all, I've never called him dad. It never sounded right. Second, I knew I wanted to come to Vegas even before Grissom did. I just didn't get the chance to until he asked me when he became supervisor. Then, we hid it because I didn't want him to be accused of nepotism." Sara explained, laughing at the first part.

"Well now that that's out of the way, we're happy for you and Greg. For the baby and the engagement. When's the wedding?" Catherine asked

"It's three months from now at the Vegas sign. May 17th." Greg said, squeezing Sara's hand.

"We gotta find you a dress, Sidle." Catherine beamed wickedly at her.

"Oh joy." Cynicism dripped from Sara's exhausted voice as she fell back on the bed…dreading the thought of actually SHOPPING for the second biggest event of her life.

"Alright, everybody out. It's naptime." Greg ushered the group as the baby began to cry tiredly.

He rocked her in the chair next to Sara's bed as thoughts of bowties, ties, garters, tuxedoes, suits, flowers, caterers, rings, and wedding invitations filter in and out of his tired mind. Indeed it would be a grueling three months and he was terrified of facing the mountain of wedding arrangements. However, he was content in the knowledge that he wouldn't be the only one under stress. He smiled over at his precious angel: named Sara Marie Sidle before sleep came and washed over his body, numbing his mind and senses and lulling him into a peaceful sleep.

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Okay, that's chapter 8. The next chapter will be the last chapter for this story but I'm already planning a short one-shot prequel. Please R & R


	9. Mr and Mrs Sanders

For the last time!! I do not own CSI or its characters; I'm just playing with them. I hope you enjoy the final chapter. I tried to make it as uncliché as possible, but there's only so much you can do with a wedding to make it fresh. Anyway, I'll stop now.

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Chapter 9: Mr. And Mrs. Sanders

A very anxious Greg Sanders paced back and forth in the hot tent that served as his dressing room only yards away from the Vegas sign. If he got anymore nervous, he felt he might faint, he thought as he pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his brow whilst attempting to keep his heart contained within the confines of his chest. He stopped pacing momentarily to take in his appearance in the full-length mirror. With a nervous eye and trembling hands, he looked himself up and down several times looking for any thread, hair, or shoelace that didn't look right.

He had decided, with slight resistance from Sara, to go with a thirties Las Vegas mobster look. To put it lightly, this decision had been met with considerably greater resistance from his mother.

From his tap-style shoes up to his pinstripe button up zoot suit, Greg Sanders was a sight…and a handsome one at that, he thought to himself. He looked over his wily mane with utmost care and precision. His blonde locks were gelled to stick out in every imaginable direction…giving him the appearance of recently having an unfortunate experience with electricity. However, everyone at the wedding knew Greg better.

"You nervous?" A twanged voice called from the "doorway", as Greg straightened up and turned to face the Texan.

"You have no idea." Nick's hands moved swiftly and adeptly as he began to tie the younger man's tie. Nick was apparently the only man at the crime lab who knew how.

"Well, if you get too nervous I'll be your stunt groom." The best man winked as Greg glared at him.

"I'll be the only one to marry Sara today, thank you." He huffed indignantly as Nick finished pushing the knot up to Greg's neck.

Nick smiled, noting how ecstatic Greg looked. "The preacher wants everyone out there now. Grissom will stay outside the other tent until Sara and Catherine are done there." Nick spoke as he and Greg began to walk out of the tent and toward the famed sign. A crowd of people was already gathering, most of them were crime lab employees. Many were tourists trying to snap pictures of the sign from outside the crime tape that Brass had set up in front of the sign to keep them out. Warrick was in the middle of it pretending to process a scene for the tourists.

Upon arriving to his spot, Greg was instructed to face the sign. Sara had made it very clear that she didn't want him to see her at all that day until she got to the grass surrounding the sign. Apparently, for all her talk about not believing in wedding superstitions, she was 'not willing to risk it'."

Greg chuckled as he remembered the day over three years ago when Nick's truck had been stolen. They had just started dating and he'd confronted her that night about the bull that they both knew she'd laid on the team. She denied it, of course, and when he confronted her about it before the wedding she merely grinned saying, "I'm not willing to risk it, Greg."

Moments later, Greg felt Nick nudge his side and he turned. His billion-watt grin was immediately plastered onto his face as he saw his stunning bride standing only feet before him with Grissom at her side. Little Hope Sanders even squealed with joy and recognition at the sight of her mother while everyone stood in awe at Sara's beauty in that flowing white taffeta-esque dress complete with a white strapless corset. Her hair tumbled gently down her shoulders in soft spiral curls. She was literally glowing with happiness as she and Greg gazed at each other. They couldn't see anyone else.

"My God you look beautiful." Greg whispered after Grissom gave her away. Both of them were still grinning like mad.

"You look pretty sharp yourself." She smiled, kissing his cheek.

"Are we ready?" The preacher yelled over the noise of passing traffic

"Oh yeah, we're ready." Greg smiled at Sara and kissed her hand.

"Repeat after me…I Greg."

"I Greg"

"Take you Sara"

"Take you Sara."

"To be my beloved wife, to have and to hold"

Greg sniffed "To be my beloved wife, to have and to hold."

"To honor you, treasure you, and to be at your side in sorrow and joy."

"To honor you, treasure you, and to be at your side in sorrow and joy."

"In the good times, and the bad, and to love and cherish you always."

"In the good times and the bad and to love and cherish you always."

"I promise you this from my heart, for all the days of my life."

"I promise you this from my heart, for all the days of my life."

Greg's grin grew even wider as he finished his vows and a couple minutes and several tears and streaks of mascara (a la Catherine) later, it was time for the rings.

"The rings please." The preacher asked, looking to Nick.

"Oh, CRAP!" Nick patted himself down as his eyes grew wide. Sara's did the same.

"Nope, here they are. I'm just kidding." Nick said, pulling the rings out of his vest pocket as Sara glared daggers at him.

As Greg slipped her ring on her finger he spoke. "Sara, this ring is a token of my love. I marry you with this ring, with all that I have and all that I am."

"I love you." Sara mouthed tearily before giving her response.

"Greg, I will always wear this ring as a sign of my commitment and the desire of my heart."

--------------------- Moments later-------------------------------------

"By the power invested in me by the state of Nevada, I pronounce you Mr. And Mrs. Greg Sanders. You may now kiss the bride!"

Greg wasted no time in doing the last part. Everyone chuckled as he dipped Sara low and laid one on her like he hadn't seen her in years instead of twenty-four hours.

"Sara Sanders, you're my everything." He whispered against her lips.

At a loss for a better statement Sara simply said one word: "Ditto."

And so in one year they had gained everything either of them wanted. They had a family, a surrogate family that they'd acquired through close communication at work over the years, and they couldn't be happier. Life was perfect…until the next decomp that is.

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Well that's it. I'm sorry I took so long to update. I was in Vegas for my sister's wedding. Being in Las Vegas actually sparked my creativity and I am now bursting at the seams with new CSI story ideas. Until next time, enjoy the story.


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